


Murasaki Petals

by milkyama



Series: Once, I Loved You [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Bittersweet Ending, Burn Without Resolution, First Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hanahaki Disease, Love, M/M, Poetic, Possibly Unrequited Love, Requited Unrequited Love, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2019-10-07 01:09:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17356109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkyama/pseuds/milkyama
Summary: 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘪 𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘴—𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴.Purple stands for royalty, but being royal doesn't mean they'll be yours forever.





	1. Momoiro

**Author's Note:**

> Murasaki—purple  
> I'm back. And this time you'll all cry. Have a good time. I might also mention that you'll want to die after you read these really short chapters. Irregular updates (basically I'll update whenever I write something good)  
> Hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's at this moment that Tobio falls hard and fast for his short ginger spiker, who can capture the light in his eyes and make Tobio's heart flutter like the momoiro cherry blossoms."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Momoiro—pink

"Kageyama, look! The cherry trees are blossoming!"

Tobio sighs. "Dumbass, what does that have to do with your shitty receives?"

Hinata pouts. Tobio thinks it's kinda cute, like a little chick focusing its beady eyes on him. He reaches out to ruffle Hinata's fluffy hair, but hesitates, instead opting to flick Hinata's forehead.

"Ahh, Kageyama! I was just thinking we can practice for longer if spring's coming," Hinata mumbles, shuffling awkwardly next to his bike. "And my receives are not shitty! I got a lot better this month!"

Tobio opens his mouth to say something, but Hinata suddenly drops his bike on the grass, taking a volleyball out of his bag.

"Kageyama, toss to me!" Hinata laughs, tossing the volleyball between his hands.

Tobio stands there, a little bit stunned by how pretty Hinata can look with the wind flowing through his haphazard ginger hair and with his amber eyes shining so brightly, like stars or precious gems.

"Kageyama-kun, give me a toss!" Hinata pleads, jumping up and down.

Tobio finally pulls his gaze away from Hinata, a light blush on his cheeks. He can't stop thinking about Hinata and how he hits his sets so flawlessly. He may not compliment Hinata much, but he appreciates him.

"Alright, but you'd better improve your receives before next week's practice match!"

Hinata squeals in delight, tossing the ball upwards over Tobio's head.

They practice for hours, the sun starting to set in a cacophony of warm shades.

"Last set, okay?"

"Alright!"

Tobio focuses on the ball—the feather-light feeling of his fingers meeting the ball, the weight of the volleyball pressing down on his finger, the precise amount of force used to propel the ball at the right angle. The ball spins, catching the air as it stops right at Hinata's hand.

And for a moment, Tobio is unable to say anything about the stumble Hinata suffered from in his run-up, or the height of his jump being worse than average.

The light of the setting sun illuminates the backdrop behind Hinata, the cherry trees shedding their momoiro blossoms one by one, like a storm of hearts and love letters. And Hinata's hand meets the ball at just the right place, just the right moment, his eyes sparkling and lively, catching the last of the light and capturing it.

It's at this moment that Tobio falls hard and fast for his short ginger spiker, who can capture the light in his eyes and make Tobio's heart flutter like the momoiro cherry blossoms.


	2. Daidaiiro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Tobio flinches—Hinata's hands are warm against his forehead and he's having indecent thoughts. Spiky yet soft daidaiiro hair, with daidaiiro-tinted eyes gazing at his in concern—a little bit too close for comfort."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daidaiiro—orange

"Kageyama-kun! Eat lunch with me!"

Tobio growls through his milk straw, pulling the box away from his mouth. "Did you think I wasn't going to? I don't have a lunch today, forgot to pack one."

Hinata frowns, swinging his lunchbag side to side. "Then you can share with me. It's not that difficult to ask."

"Dumbass, isn't that awkward?" Tobio lets the thought slip from his mouth.

"Nope, not at all!"

Hinata smiles his classic dazzling grin, Tobio turning away to cover his face with his arm. Feelings are so inconvenient, he thinks, berating himself for letting himself get carried away.

"Kageyama-san, say ahh!"

Tobio turns around to see Hinata with a piece of chicken kaarage grasped in between his chopsticks. He takes a moment to scoff at Hinata's chopstick technique, before realizing the situation. He carefully takes the chopsticks into his mouth, muttering a quick "thank you" behind his sleeve.

"What's up with your voice, Kageyama?"

"Huh? Nothing, dumbass. Why, does it sound weird?"

"It sounds like you're sick..." Hinata trails off, munching on a tamagoyaki.

Tobio recalls coughing a lot these past few days. He didn't feel sick, it was just coughing—so he assumed it was just a lack of hydration.

Hinata raises his hand and places the back against Tobio's forehead. Tobio flinches—Hinata's hands are warm against his forehead and he's having indecent thoughts. Spiky yet soft daidaiiro hair, with daidaiiro-tinted eyes gazing at his in concern—a little bit too close for comfort.

Tobio doesn't remember what his favorite colour was when he was a child. Perhaps blue? He may never know, considering that he doesn't like to think about his childhood.

But he knows, as sure as his tosses, that in this moment his favorite colour is daidaiiro.

"Eh, you don't have a fever or anything? Are you sick or-"

Tobio bursts into a round of coughs, endless and dry.

"S-sorry," Tobio gasps out through his coughs. "I-I need to go to the ba-bathroom."

Tobio stumbles through the door, gasping for air as he leans over the sink, pain rising up his throat in wave after wave. He briefly wonders if someone's going to find his body here, curled up in a corner. It would be upsetting, to say the least.

Finally, Tobio lets out one last cough, and stares in horror at the sink. While coughing, his vision was blurry and he didn't particularly care about what he was seeing, but now he can see.

Tiny purple flowers, shades ranging from the lightest mauve to the deepest plum, fill the sink to the brim—almost like Tobio just coughed up a flower garden in the bathroom—except each of them are stained red with sprays and specks of blood; deep red blood that convinces Tobio that this is not merely a dream.

Tobio snaps a picture with his phone before throwing them all into the trash.

He's going to die. From coughing up flowers.


	3. Akai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "In the mirror, he looks like a vampire—his skin pale and lifeless, and his lips and teeth stained stunningly with the akai of his blood."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akai—red

Tobio doesn't go to school the next day. Or the next.

In fact, he doesn't go to school for the rest of the week. He has nineteen missed calls and fifty-three unread messages from Hinata. A few more from members of the volleyball team.

He can't bring himself to read them all, let alone respond to them.

After the "First Flower", he went home before volleyball practice. And after he walked into the house wordlessly—his mother there as a witness—he threw up in the kitchen sink. His mother screamed and called the hospital as he laid on the marble floor with blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth and little flowers all over him.. Needless to say, it was a terrible experience.

Hanahaki disease. A disease where the patient threw up flowers because of an unrequited love. Incurable, except for an invasive surgery that rendered the patient unable to ever feel anything close to love again.

Tobio knows who it is. He knows all too well when these uncontrollable feelings had started welling up in him like a steady stream filling up a bucket. He was just unaware that the water had already overflowed.

He coughs after thinking about Hinata, he coughs after glancing at his phone and seeing all the unread messages from Hinata. It's Hinata.

It's always been Hinata who showed him new things. Friendship, teamwork, and now love. And soon death, Tobio gloomily thinks. How fitting.

He coughs now, a little tickle in his throat, and he covers his mouth and stumbles to the bathroom.

He hacks his lungs out, the toilet filling up with those insidious purple flowers, speckling the white porcelain with deep akai streaks. He shouldn't be bleeding so much. He shouldn't, he shouldn't, he shouldn't. The doctor told him he still had a month to live. How can he live for another month with so much blood loss?

Tobio flicks a flower off his lip and into his palm.

A purple heliotrope. The purple stands for royalty. And the heliotrope represents invisibility in some way. His mother explained these carefully to him, as if the meaning of the flower would help him to get better. It wouldn't. They just represent how hopeless his chances of recovery are.

He sighs, wobbily standing up as he flushes the flowers down the drain. In the mirror, he looks like a vampire—his skin pale and lifeless, and his lips and teeth stained stunningly with the akai of his blood.

Maybe he should just get the confession over with.

 


	4. Aoiro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A sickening aoiro colour drifts through, staining uniforms with aoiro in place of blue and leaving him with only the thud-thud of the volleyball left. Tobio wants to scream, to smash his head against a bedpost, anything to stop these terrible thoughts about an aoiro jacket he'll never wear, that he doesn't want to ever wear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aoiro—turquoise

"Yoohoo! This is Tooru at the phone, how may I help you-"

"Oikawa-san."

Tobio cuts off the cheerful and frankly obnoxious voice at the other end of the line, playing with his dark bangs idly.

"Ewww, Tobio-chan? I'm not going to help you, you big stupid face. Stupid Tobio-chan!"

Tobio almost throws his phone against the wall, but sucks in an exasperated breath of air at the immature tone of his senpai. He can't get mad right now. He needs to get through to Oikawa.

"Oikawa-san, I need some advice."

"Nope! Stupid!"

"Hanahaki disease. Ring a bell?"

The other side of the line quiets down, light breathing the only thing coming through.

"What the fuck, you stupid kouhai."

Tobio fights the urge to start screaming or to lose his temper at this point, because he can only stand so much of Oikawa being childish.

"You know what I mean. You had it too, and you survived. Iwaizumi-san-"

"Shut up, Tobio-chan. Even if you have it, they probably won't like you back because you're egotistical. You get it, don't you?"

Memories flash through Tobio's head. Blue and white jackets turning their backs, the sound of a volleyball bouncing against the floor in tune with his heartbeat. A sickening aoiro colour drifts through, staining uniforms with aoiro in place of blue and leaving him with only the _thud-thud_  of the volleyball left. Tobio wants to scream, to smash his head against a bedpost, anything to stop these terrible thoughts about an aoiro jacket he'll never wear, that he doesn't want to ever wear.

"Did I strike a nerve, Tobio-chan? Go get the surgery. If you really want to confess then go ahead. Guess what? I don't care."

The phone line lets out a long _beep_ as Tobio curls up under his sheets and angrily mutters a string of curses.


	5. Chairo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The cotton shirt hangs off of one of his shoulders, exposing the smooth milky skin underneath, and drops all the way to the middle of his thighs, the navy blue shorts peeking out from underneath the hem. Wide chairo eyes, like pools of honey, gaze innocently at Tobio, lips softly parted and hair damp."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chairo—brown

"Eh...? Kageyama, do you have an umbrella?"

The sky is gray and stormy, sheets of rain pouring down onto the ground. Tobio hesitates, back pressed to the wall of the school as he tries his best to stay under the tiny eaves. Hinata doesn't seem to care nearly as much about the rain, considering that he's standing right in the middle of it—his thin t-shirt splashed with water and his bangs plastered to his forehead. It's a good look on him, Tobio decides, but he doesn't want him to get sick. Tobio tugs his arm, dragging Hinata to the wall.

"Dumbass, you'll get sick if you stand in the rain like that. At least put your jacket on or something."

Tobio flips his hood over his head while Hinata struggles his way into a hoodie, his hair sticking up in all directions when his head finally pops up from inside the fabric. Cute, Tobio screams in his head. How can a human be this adorable?

"Do you think I can bike home in this weather?" Hinata ponders, glancing sadly at his bike just meters away, soaking wet.

"No way. You can spend the night at my house, it's way closer. Call your mom so she doesn't get worried."

Tobio wants to smack himself. How much is he willing to bet that the Hanahaki will get worse because of this? He's such a fool for Hinata, damn it.

"Do we just run for it?"

Tobio grabs Hinata by the wrist, the warmth of his skin contrasting with the frigidness of Tobio's fingertips.

"Yeah, but you had better be quick about it. I don't want to get sick, you dumbass."

Tobio pulls Hinata along, the rain soaking straight through his hood and his clothes. A faint tickle hits his throat, but he ignores it, swallowing it down as best as he can. His heart thuds, the blood roaring in his ears as his sopping wet sneakers send up little water sprinkles each time they contact the pavement. Hinata runs behind him, breathing heavy enough for Tobio to hear it amidst the smattering of the rain. Tobio coughs as lightly as possible to relieve the building pressure in his throat, a few stray flowers being lost in the puddles they step in in their mad dash.

When they finally reach Tobio's house, after what feels like years of running, Tobio sheds almost all his upper layers and his shoes, stomping into the house in a half-soaked white tee and uniform pants splattered with muddy water from the ankle up.

Hinata follows along, dumping his clothes and shoes in a haphazard pile next to Tobio's.

"Oi, dumbass, catch."

Tobio throws Hinata a towel, his own towel resting on top of his dripping hair.

"I don't know if I have any clothes your size, I got rid of most of my stuff from junior high. I can check."

Hinata hums in agreement, scrubbing at his hair furiously with the towel as he trails behind Tobio going up the stairs. Tobio digs through a drawer, exhaling sharply out of annoyance.

"I can't find anything in your size. Just wear this."

He tosses Hinata a random shirt and shorts, barely looking at him as he slides the drawer back in.

"Ka-Kageyama? It's a little bit...too big..."

Tobio turns around, groaning in frustration, but freezes when he sees the state of his clothes on Hinata's slender frame. The cotton shirt hangs off of one of his shoulders, exposing the smooth milky skin underneath, and drops all the way to the middle of his thighs, the navy blue shorts peeking out from underneath the hem. Wide chairo eyes, like pools of honey, gaze innocently at Tobio, lips softly parted and hair damp.

Holy shit, he did not think this through.

 


	6. Shiroi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Tobio backs up until he's nearly glued against the wall. His shiroi shirt with bloody decor sticks to his chest, like another layer of dead skin to shed. The once warm blood staining his shirt now becomes icy cold to the touch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiroi—white

Tobio gags, the disgustingly hollow noises bouncing off the hard bathroom walls as he kneels next to the toilet, his face hovering over the water. His knees hurt, the bell signaling the end of class rang nearly 15 minutes ago, and the flowers, just like his words of confession, are stuck in his throat.

He didn't know it'd be so painful to get a bunch of stupid flowers out of his throat. For some reason, it's been particularly difficult today to rid himself of the flowers.

He gives out one more cough, on the brink of hurling out the small lunch he had along with the heliotropes growing in his lungs. Tobio's vision turns dark around the edges as he finally coughs out the flowers, tickling at the inside of his mouth and sticking to the back of his teeth. He wipes at his mouth, panicking at the excess of crimson stains and clumps across the porcelain.

Shit. Shit.

_Shit._

This isn't supposed to happen. He isn't supposed to start coughing up waterfalls of blood until he's basically dead. It's too early.

He stands up fast, liquid still dribbling from between his lips and coating his shirt with warm, sticky blood. Dazed, he unlocks the stall door, a trail of small blood drops following his steps to the sink.

"Kageyama?"

Tobio jerks away from inspecting the damage in the mirror, calling out a warbled response. "Yes?"

"Ah, well...Suga sent me to check up on you. I'm going to come in."

"Wait, Asahi-san—"

Asahi stops dead at the entrance, his eyes filled with horror at the already drying blood on Tobio's lips.

Tobio backs up until he's nearly glued against the wall. His shiroi shirt with bloody decor sticks to his chest, like another layer of dead skin to shed. The once warm blood staining his shirt now becomes icy cold to the touch.

"Kageyama..."

"It's not what you think, Asahi-san! It's not what you think—"

Tears gather at the very edges of Tobio's vision, and he tries to blink them back, but finds them dripping down his face just like the blood.

"I won't tell anyone, if that's what you want. Do you want to talk about it?"


	7. Midori

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "My hand hits the ball, but the distraction of a impeding cough softens the hit. The volleyball just lightly bumps into Hinata's fingertips, flying back past my head and landing in the midori grass."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Midori—green

As the weather gets warmer, Daichi suggests setting up a net outside. After all, he says, it's a shame to waste the good weather staying inside all day.

It takes a while to get the poles firmly anchored into the midori turf, and even longer to fix the net perfectly without the entire thing falling on someone. Such an incident would be fatal to Nishinoya or Hinata, but somehow Tobio doubts that Hinata would be harmed in such a situation. He always finds a way to be okay.

After running a few drills and watching Hinata, somehow, manage to get himself caught in the net like a fish, they decide to finally play.

To Tobio's dismay, he and Hinata are on different sides of the net. Suga consoles him by saying that in this way, he'll become more used to setting for everyone and adjusting to individual playing styles. He's not wrong, but Tobio still wishes he could play with Hinata. It feels good already just playing volleyball, but it's just...different, playing with Hinata.

The ball gets served over the net, just barely clipping the edge of it and dropping suddenly. I make eye contact with Suga, nodding almost imperceptibly and diving for the ball. It makes contact with my forearms, traveling to where Suga is waiting, his hands already up in the setting position. I push myself off the ground, looping back and readying for a spike. As I run up, I accidentally make eye contact with Hinata, who has his legs bent ready to jump and block me. My hand hits the ball, but the distraction of a impeding cough softens the hit. The volleyball just lightly bumps into Hinata's fingertips, flying back past my head and landing in the midori grass.

I cough, the hacking voice in my throat drawing concern to me. Suga turns white in despair, suddenly realizing my situation as purple petals come raining from between my lips.

"Kageyama!"

The coughs don't stop. All I can do is continue on, the dry petals stinging my throat as they come up. When the fit finally stops, I go to wipe my mouth, but my hand comes away red with blood. Someone screams. Hinata?

"Someone call 119!"

I hear the faint beeps of a cellphone as my vision begins to darken around the edges, the vignette closing in at an alarming rate.

If this is truly the end, where I have no option but to get the surgery, I might as well say what I've been keeping secret for such a long time.

"Someone..." I whisper, the person standing at my side intently listening. "Tell Hinata...I loved him."

Everything disappears.

 


	8. Haiiro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's you, huh? I guess we went through all this for nothing. If only we had more time, if our love collided at the same time, if fate didn't decide it this way...I wouldn't be here throwing up haiiro daffodils for you after you threw up those murasaki flowers for me. It's a little bit late, but...I love you. Daffodils mean unrequited love, you know? But it's okay...I know that you once felt the same for me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haiiro—gray

Years pass by. Tobio loses his passion for volleyball as a result of the operation, but decides to keep playing anyways. He misses the raw feeling he used to have in his every set. Now all he has is precise and calculated movements—certainly quite enough to deem him as a genius setter—but he desperately wants the thrill and excitement of the sport back.

He wishes he didn't go through with the surgery. Who knows, maybe Hinata could've liked him too? He'd take any ending over the one he's living in.

Yamaguchi somehow finds him again over the internet. They chat for a while. Yamaguchi brings up the fact that he, too, had to get the Hanahaki surgery after graduation—he doesn't say for whom but Tobio can guess very well, from Yamaguchi's shiny eyes when talking about a certain high school blocker. Yamaguchi doesn't play volleyball anymore—also as a result of the surgery—but stays by Tsukishima's side as he plays volleyball.

It's painful that everything has come down to connecting and bonding over a shared past illness. Any connection they used to have with volleyball is completely gone. Yamaguchi's words are just polite promises, seemingly hopeful but really just hollow and pointless inside.

Yamaguchi begs him to go to the volleyball team reunion happening in a week. Tobio claims he'll think about it, when in reality he won't go no matter what.

Sometimes, Tobio does reminisce about a middle blocker with bright eyes and soft hair, who used to have his heart in the palm of his hand. And he does feel a little, imcomprehensible twinge in his heart when he does, inevitably, think about him at night. But all the overflowing feelings are gone with the plant they removed from him. It's more of a nostalgic feeling, rather than just raw passion.

It's a blessing and a curse, at the same time.

Often, girls will ask for his number. Before, he had to make up a stupid excuse relating to schoolwork and volleyball. Now, all he simply has to say is "I got the Hanahaki surgery," and they shut up. Some of them say that they had to get it too, but were hoping for another chance at love. Some of them simply don't understand and try again and again, only to ironically end up throwing up haiiro flowers from the Hanahaki disease. Most of them just say a simple sorry.

Tobio finds himself at the reunion anyways, with messy bedhead and a pair of headphones around his neck.

Everyone looks so much older—he finds himself shocked at the changes a few years can bring. He catches himself staring at Yachi with streaked hair and confidence he never knew she could possess, Yamaguchi with an earring, and Tsukishima with the same shitbag smile, but more tired and less snarky.

He's changed too, but at the same time, not many things have changed. His bangs are now swept to the side, his frame more tall and muscular than before. But at the same time, he still is the same Tobio with a penchant to become awkward at times, to look incredibly mean. It's funny how some habits die hard.

When his eyes land on Hinata, his heart thuds hard in his chest, somehow denying that he ever received the Hanahaki surgery. It hurts, it just creates an awful squirmy sensation in the pit of his stomach that leaves him gasping for breath. 

His orange hair somehow is more electrifyingly orange than before, his eyes brighter, his smile wider. Out of all of them, Hinata is the one that still retained his innocence and energy.

The reunion passes by in a blur. It turns out that Hinata and Yachi tried dating for a while after high school, but they ended up having a fallout and decided to just be friends. Hinata exchanges few words with him, but whenever they do, it feels as if nothing happened at all. As if Tobio had never had the Hanahaki, and they had stayed together after high school, and...

Afterwards, Hinata chases after Tobio down the dimly lit road.

Tobio stops and asks Hinata if he's okay, touching his shoulder rather lightly and patting him on the back as Hinata's gulps of air morph into hacking coughs.

Hacking coughs that Tobio belatedly recognizes.

Hinata throws up bundles of daffodils, one after another. Tobio blanches, but not just because of the flowers.

The daffodils are a light haiiro, and it's all so wrong. Too colorless, Tobio screams in his head. Why are they colorless?

Haiiro flowers represent that the unrequited love is for someone who has...already had the Hanahaki surgery.

Tobio almost wants to scream. Bittersweet, sour, sweet, all at once. It's almost too much to bear. He knows. He knows what's happening, yet he can't look away.

Hinata looks up, smiling at Tobio. There's pollen stuck to his lips, Tobio notices, brushing it away with his thumb before he realizes what he's doing. The flesh under his finger quivers as Hinata's eyes gloss over with tears.

"It's you, huh? I guess we went through all this for nothing. If only we had more time, if our love collided at the same time, if fate didn't decide it this way...I wouldn't be here throwing up haiiro daffodils for you after you threw up those murasaki flowers for me. It's a little bit late, but...I love you. Daffodils mean unrequited love, you know? But it's okay...I know that you once felt the same for me."

Tobio stumbles back, away from the gentle touch on his wrist, away from the round eyes that speak volumes without words.

"Heliotropes mean invisibility. Was I invisible to you back then?"

Hinata comes closer, slim fingers wrapping around his wrists. "Maybe...but right now, in this moment, there's no way I could see anything but you."

Tobio falls back, catching himself on his elbows...

And coughs up murasaki petals for Hinata as his feelings come rushing back again.

Hinata closes his eyes, a bitter grin surfacing on his face as he begins to regret everything. He approaches, cupping Tobio's cheeks with his palms as if Tobio is just like a flower, delicate and precious.

"I guess we ran out of time, huh? After all, even if I love you this time, 6 years later...it's not enough. We might as well take advantage of the minutes we have left."

He presses his lips to Kageyama's, petals and blood between them. Kageyama kisses back, Hinata's soft lips on his. It's not exactly like he imagined—metallic taste and oh so desperate—but it's Hinata. As the flowers on the floor begin to softly flutter away, like a storm of bitter regrets and overflowing feelings, Kageyama's eyes roll into the back of his head and he collapses, followed by Hinata.

The last thing Kageyama sees are the murasaki petals.

The start and end of it all.

 

**_F I N_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a journey! It shouldn't have taken this long to finish, but boy, I'm bad at time management. I originally had planned for this to go on for 11 chapters, with a few more romantic chapters, but I'd gotten really sick of this fic by the time I came back to it. I think, in total, I cut out around 3 or 4 chapters I had originally planned to write in my pursuit for the end.
> 
> I feel like I do have some explaining to do, since I've changed the Hanahaki trope from the norm and I feel that I didn't do my idea justice in the story itself.
> 
> The idea is that Hanahaki can be cured through this surgery, but once you receive it you can't feel any kind of love anymore (i.e. for hobbies, for friends, for parents, etc.) If someone gets the Hanahaki for someone who received the surgery already, their flowers will come out gray. In the case of our poor Hinata and Kageyama, Kageyama had a brief relapse because Hinata was the one who caused his Hanahaki in the first place.
> 
> Did they die? That's for you to decide. I like killing my characters at the end because it ties things up nicely, but if you want them to live, I've left it so you can imagine them surviving and having their happy ending.
> 
> I hope that, to whoever is reading this, you enjoyed my story! See you next time!


End file.
